Valencia Airport Mini Guide
Tell me About Valencia
It was a Roman city and was then taken over by the Moors until the 13th century, when, like the rest of Spain, it was recaptured by the Kings of Castile,
Leon and Aragon. In recent times it has been the centre of a citrus industry and has a variety of orange named after it. There too, paella was invented and has become the national dish of Spain. It is a beautiful city with an ultra-modern heart in the City of Arts and Science complex. Its position on the coast saw it host two Americas Cup races in the last five years.
How do I get to Valencia?
Valencia is only five miles away from the airport of the same name. Public transport to and from the airport is frequent, cheap and convenient with the metro being the best method with stops at the railway station before getting to the city centre. There are flights there from all over Europe including routes from
Stansted by Ryanair and
Gatwick by easyJet. There are also flights from North Africa and the Middle East as well as
New York. Blue Air and Wizz Air have joined Ryanair in offering flights to the nearby
Castellon Airport widening it's appeal as a local alternative airport should Valencia not be convenient.
What is the Airport Like?
Looking a little like a multi-storey car park, the old terminal is a poor relative to the sweeping lines and acres of glass in the new terminal built in 2007. If you’re lucky enough to land at the new terminal, you can expect the latest in state of the art facilities.
What Should I do When I Land?
The new terminal has four air bridges to take you from the plane into the terminal building. Although it’s a compact design, there’s still a fair bit of walking to do before you leave the airport. If you need assistance through the airport, make sure your airline is told well in advance of your flight. Once through passport control, you’ll want to familiarise yourself with the airport surroundings. If you have any trouble then the airport help desk is easily found in the centre of the wall nearest you on level 1. You’ll have to go down a floor to get to your luggage but having collected your belongings and started looking for the car hire companies, you’ll see they’re found along the wall to your right as you exit customs on level 0.
There are several banks represented across the airport and on the different levels. Each has an ATM for quick withdrawal of cash. If travelling by bus, the stops are immediately outside the building and if getting the metro into the city, follow the signs for the station.
What About When I Leave Valencia?
Once you’ve handed over your luggage and collected your boarding passes you’ll have the chance to shop and dine in style at the airport. There are five shops including a grocery store and pharmacy as well as three selling a whole variety of goods, in fact, almost everything the traveller could need. There’s a good range of restaurants too but they all serve similar food, just in different surroundings. The food is delicious, nicely presented and accompanied by a range of drinks to choose from. After security you’ll find the customary duty free shop and across the airport there is the availability of Wi-Fi on a pay per use basis.